SIR CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD
Stanford: Piano Concerto No. 2 & Concert Variations on an English Theme Margaret Fingerhut (piano) Ulster Orchestra, Vernon Handley [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Sep/1989 ] Recorded February 19-23, 1989. |
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Monteverdi - Vespro Della Beata Vergine (Vespers) Margaret Marshal, Felicity Palmer, Philip Langridge, Thomas Hampson / Concentus musicus Wien / Nikolaus Harnoncourt [ Teldec Ultima / 2 CD - released 11/Jul/1997 ] Live Recording. Recording location: Graz 1986 |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert and the Nocturne (III) Margaret Price (soprano) Graham Johnson (piano) [ Hyperion Schubert Edition Vol 15 / CD - released 31/Oct/2001 ] PENGUIN GUIDE ROSETTE 'Pleasure after pleasure... the equal of anything yet heard in this wonderful undertaking' (Hi Fi News) |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: Ermione (complete opera recorded in 1988) Cecilia Gasdia, Margarita Zimmermann, Ernesto Palacio / Orchestre Philharmonique De Monte-Carlo, Claudio Scimone [ Erato / Warner Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 12/Oct/2009 ] Ermione was first performed at the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, on 27 March 1819. For reasons that are as yet unclear, the opera was withdrawn on 19 April after only seven performances, and was not seen again until well into the 20th Century. |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Brahms: German Requiem [Ein deutsches Requiem] Charlotte Margiono (soprano) / Rodney Gilfrey (baritone) / Monteverdi Choir / Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique / John Eliot Gardiner [ Philips / Decca Originals / CD - released 10/Feb/2010 ] "Gardiner's 'revolutionary' account of the German Requiem brings a range of choral sound even more thrilling than in the concert hall." Rosette (Highest Award) Penguin Stereo Guide |
MARTYNOV / RICHTER / GLASS / VASKS / ENO / JOHANNSSON
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mari Samuelsen Mari Samuelsen (violin) / Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Jonathan Stockhammer [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 28/Jul/2019 ] Mari has enjoyed a remarkable rise on the international concert stage through a characteristic mixture of artistry and enterprise. Her concerts combine breathtaking musical virtuosity and an imaginative and innovative approach to presentation. |
GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (3 LP) Maria Callas, Nicolai Gedda, Andréa Guiot, Robert Massard / Orchestre du Théâtre National de L'Opera, Georges Pretre [ Warner Classics LP / 3 Vinyl Box Set - released 19/May/2023 ] Towards the end of Callas's career, there were many rumours that she was planning to perform Carmen on stage. This was never to be, but Carmen became her penultimate complete recording of an opera. |
VINCENCO BELLINI
Bellini: Norma [complete opera] (LP) Maria Callas, Franco Corelli, Christa Ludwig, Nicola Zaccaria [ Warner Classics Vinyl / 4 Vinyl Box Set - released 10/Mar/2023 ] This 1960 Norma represents Maria Callas's final complete documented version of her signature role. Seven recordings of the opera exist with Callas (1950-60), plus numerous snippets and scenes captured between 1949 and 1965. With 89 performances,... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
La Divina - Maria Callas in all her roles Maria Callas, with Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, Piero Campolonghi, Franco Corelli, Ebe Stignani & many others [ Warner Classics / 135 CD Box Set - released 22/Sep/2023 ] This is the most comprehensive box of Callas recordings ever released, presenting La Divina in all 74 roles for which audio documents exist. It comprises her complete studio recordings, a collection of her best live recordings...and much more. |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: Tosca (Complete Opera with full libretto) (Recorded 1953) Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi / Teatro alla Scala, de Sabata [ EMI / 2 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/1995 ] "There has never been a finer recorded performance of Tosca than Callas's first, with Victor de Sabata conducting and Tito Gobbi as Scarpia." - Rosette Penguin Stereo Guide |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Turandot (3 LP) Maria Callas, Nicolai Gedda, Eugenio Fernandi, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Giuseppe Nessi / Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafi [ Warner Classics LP / 3 Vinyl Box Set - released 8/Sep/2023 ] "To have Callas, the most flashing-eyed of all sopranos as Turandot, is the most natural piece of casting. With her Turandot was not just an implacable man-hater but a highly provocative female" Gramophone |
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Monteverdi: Vespro della beata Vergine (1610) Deluxe Edition Maria Cristina Kiehr, Barbara Borden, Andreas Scholl, John Bowen / Concerto Vocale, Nederlands Kamerkoor & Nederlands CO, René Jacobs [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2005 ] "Jacobs approaches the work with courage, a wide range of tempos and a vivid imagination - features that characterize so much of his finest musicianship. Many sections positively glow." (Gramophone) |
FRESCOBALDI / GRATIANI / ROSSI / BERNABEI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Maria Cristina Kiehr - Canta La Maddalena Maria Cristina Kiehr (soprano) / Concerto Soave, Concerto Soave [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 29/Sep/2000 ] "Kiehr has chosen works which skilfully blend dramatic scena with contemplative radiance, and with her significantly sensitive accompanists, Concerto Soave, has found a winning formula to project the best of the solo motet tradition." (Gramophone) |
MOZART / SCHUBERT / CHOPIN / BACH / SCHUMANN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Maria João Pires Maria João Pires (piano) with the Vienna Philharmonic, Claudio Abbado [ Sony / Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2000 ] Pires was born in Lisbon, Portugal. Her first recital was at the age of five, and at the age of seven she was already playing Mozart piano concertos publicly. Two years later she received Portugal's top prize for young musicians. In the following... |
BEETHOVEN / ELGAR / BRAHMS / SAINT-SAENS / FAURE / POPPER / etc
Maria Kliegel - Anniversary Edition Maria Kliegel (cello) / with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Camerata Transsylvanica, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland [ Naxos / 3 CD Box Set - released 11/Nov/2022 ] "Her playing has great virtuosity, but it is her phrasing especially in the Elgar, which suggests a great musical intelligence" - Classic CD |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schubert: Piano sonata D784 / 6 Moments Musicaux D780 / etc Maria Pires (piano) [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 14/Sep/2007 ] Born in 1944 in Lisbon, Maria João Pires gave her first public performance at the age of 4 and began her studies of music and piano with Campos Coelho and Francine Benoît, continuing later in Germany, with Rosl Schmid and Karl Engel. |
J. S. BACH / LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Maria Yudina Maria Yudina (piano) [ Philips Great Pianists Of The 20th Century Vol 99 / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2000 ] Sviatoslav Richter said of her playing:..."She was immensely talented and a keen advocate of the music of her own time: she played Stravinsky, whom she adored, Hindemith, Krenek and Bartók." |
DEBUSSY / DUPARC / FAURE / RAVEL
Secrets: French Songs Marianne Crebassa (mezzo), Fazil Say (piano) [ Erato Classics / CD - released 1/Feb/2018 ] "Fin de siècle song from Duparc to late Fauré forms the basis of this impressive recital, Crebassa's tone and shading ideal in this repertoire, well matched throughout by pianist Fazıl Say." Gramophone Award WINNER 2018 - Solo Vocal |
MICHEL LEGRAND / JACQUES DEMY
Legrand: Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) BLU-RAY Châtelet Theatre, Paris / Marie Oppert, Natalie Dessay, Vincent Niclo, Laurent Naouri / Michel Legrand (cond) [ Warner Erato Classics Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 11/May/2015 ] Recorded live at Paris' Châtelet Theatre in Autumn 2014, this is a magical stage adaptation of Jacques Demy's iconic 1964 film Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg). Michel Legrand conducts a 75-piece symphony orchestra in his own... |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Clarinet Sonatas, Op. 120 & Clarinet Trio, Op. 114 Marie Ross (clarinet), Petra Somlai (piano), Claire-Lise Démettre (cello) [ Centaur / CD - released 15/Nov/2019 ] A ground-breaking recording of Brahms' Chamber Works for the Clarinet and Piano, this is the new disc from University of Auckland Lecturer, Marie Ross. Performed with original instruments from the period in the rarely-heard historically informed... |